PEDDLER. Persons who travel about the country with merchandise for the purpose of selling it.
An itinerant trader, who carries goods about in order to sell them, and who actual ly sells them, to purchasers, in contradistinc tion to a trader who has goods for sale, and sells them, at a fixed place of business. A petty Chapman, or other trading person go ing from town to town, or to other men's houses, and travelling either on foot or with horses, or otherwise, carrying to sell or ex pose to sale, any goods, wares, or merchan dise. Graffty v. Rushville, 107 Ind. 502, 8 N. E. 609, 57 Am. Rep. 128; Com. v. Ober, 12 Cush. (Mass.) 493; Stamford v. Fisher, 63 Hun 123, 17 N. Y. Supp. 609.
An, itinerant individual, ordinarily with out local habitation or place of business, who travels about the country carrying commodi ties for sale. Davenport v. Rice, 75 Ia. 74, 39 N. W. 191, 9 Am. St. Rep. 454.
The distinctive feature has been held not to consist in the mode of transportation, though one of the statutory modes is essen tial to constitute a peddler, but in the fact that the peddler goes from house to house or place to place carrying his merchandise with him and concurrently sells and delivers it; Ballou v. State, 87 Ala. 144, 6 South. 393; Stamford v. Fisher, 140 N. Y. 187, 35 N. E. 500. One who, having a place of business in another town, goes about delivering goods at the houses of his customers, in pursuance of orders previously taken, and takes orders for future delivery, is not a peddler ; Com. v. Eichenberg, 140 Pa. 158, 21 Atl. 258; State v.
Lee, 113 N. C. 681, 18 S. E. 713, 37 Am. St. Rep. 649 ; but one who manufactures and deals in proprietary medicines who, although having a permanent manufactory and resi dence, yet attends county fairs and publicly recommends his medicines as a cure for cer tain ailments, is held a peddler; State v.
Gouss, 85 Ia. 21, 51 N. W. 1147.
The driver of a delivery wagon who takes orders for goods and subsequently delivers them is not a peddler ; Hewson v. Englewood, 55 N. J. L. 522, 27 Atl. 904, 21 L. R. A. 736; nor is one who merely delivers goods previously sold by another ; Stuart v. Cun ningham, 88 Ia. 191, 55 N. W. 311, 20 L. R. A. 430; or a canvasser ; Cerro Gordo v. Rawlings, 135 Ill. 36, 25 N. E. 1006; or one who exhibits samples of cloth and takes or ders for clothing to be made therefrpm ; Radebaugh v. Plain City, 28 Wkly. L. 13ul. (Ohio) 107.
But one who goes from house to house with merchandise, selling the same on the instalment plan is held a peddler ; People v. Sawyer, 106 Mich. 428, 64 N. W. 333 ; South Bend v. Martin, 142 Ind. 31, 41 N. E. 315, 29 L. R. A. 531.
A state may impose a tax upon itinerant peddlers and require them to take out a license to practice their trade; Emert v. Mis souri, 156 U. S. 296, 15 Sup. Ct. 367, 39 L. Ed. 430 ; but it may not discriminate between its own citizens and non-residents ; Ward v. Maryland, 12 Wall. (U. S.) 418, 20 L. Ed. 449; Webber v. Virginia, 103 U. S. 344, 26 L. Ed. 565; Wrought Iron R. Co. v. John son, 84 Ga. 754, 11 S. E. 233, 8 L. R. A. 273 ; nor charge a higher price to the latter for a license than it imposes on the former; State v. Wiggin, 64 N. H. 508, 15 Atl. 128, 1 L. R. A. 56. See COMMERCE; LICENSE; COMMER CIAL TRAVELLER ; DRUMMER.